Maya's early version of a noseguard's four-point stance should serve as a reminder to everyone that the NFL pre-season begins next Saturday.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Five Months Flew By Fabulously (and Fast)
Maya turns 5-months old today. Let's assess where she's at, since I've not updated some of her most avid fans as of late. She's eating her first solid food as of this week - rice cereal, which is the soupiest "solid" imaginable, but she seems to like it. Her sleeping is exceptional, but our pediatrician advised that we not mention how comfortably she's sleeping through the night or going down without complaint for naps to other parents that may be more frustrated by their own child's sleep habits. So I won't mention it. She's able to get both feet in her mouth, sometimes simultaneously. She still seems entirely happy riding her BOB stroller through the Park, probably due to the fact that San Francisco's still foggy and cool while the rest of the country sounds as though they're about ready to burst into flames. And her Mommy and Daddy are entirely satisfied with the experience of parenthood thus far. The warranty's up, so I guess were all stuck with each other. Which is a very good thing.
We got our camera back from Sony, still broken and slated for retirement 'cause the warranty doesn't cover the repairs needed and the cost of doing so through the manufacturer would be more than what a newer, fancier camera will cost. Lamer than lame. We're still using Nanna and Poppy's, but I'm less always-at-the-ready with that one. So I'm pricing new cameras and should have something new within the week, after which time the number of image postings should increase once again.
Tomorrow's my last day guest hosting the blog Whatever while it's owner preps for the release of his new sci-fi book. The audience there hasn't exactly wet themselves with gleeful appreciation of my musings nor have I taken to that pond of discussion like a friendly duck. My posting from last week focused on a moment in the life of James Doohan (Scotty from "Star Trek") on the day after his death. I may try to go out with a sub-referential bang tomorrow, so please check it out. Regardless, my primary attention to and the Family Buick will return in earnest thereafter.
I've running the SF half-marathon on Sunday. I'd meant to be much more enthusiastic about both my training and my desire to raise money for 826 Valencia in the course of doing so. But I plan to enjoy the run and promote my support and admiration for what goes on with the expanding universe of 826s around the country (currently in SF, NYC, LA and coming soon to Seattle, Chicago and Ann Arbor). Check back for my shtick on that course of action. Rock on.
We got our camera back from Sony, still broken and slated for retirement 'cause the warranty doesn't cover the repairs needed and the cost of doing so through the manufacturer would be more than what a newer, fancier camera will cost. Lamer than lame. We're still using Nanna and Poppy's, but I'm less always-at-the-ready with that one. So I'm pricing new cameras and should have something new within the week, after which time the number of image postings should increase once again.
Tomorrow's my last day guest hosting the blog Whatever while it's owner preps for the release of his new sci-fi book. The audience there hasn't exactly wet themselves with gleeful appreciation of my musings nor have I taken to that pond of discussion like a friendly duck. My posting from last week focused on a moment in the life of James Doohan (Scotty from "Star Trek") on the day after his death. I may try to go out with a sub-referential bang tomorrow, so please check it out. Regardless, my primary attention to and the Family Buick will return in earnest thereafter.
I've running the SF half-marathon on Sunday. I'd meant to be much more enthusiastic about both my training and my desire to raise money for 826 Valencia in the course of doing so. But I plan to enjoy the run and promote my support and admiration for what goes on with the expanding universe of 826s around the country (currently in SF, NYC, LA and coming soon to Seattle, Chicago and Ann Arbor). Check back for my shtick on that course of action. Rock on.
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
John Roberts - Where have we seen you before?
Anyone seen "Airplane" lately? Animation courtesy of this feller.
From the Hall of Fame of Unintended Ironies
Hard to beat this silly picture from June 2003 at a dinner to celebrate Bob "Douchebag for Liberty" Novak's 40th anniversary as a columnist. Rove's button says (and this is the absolute truth) "I am a Source, not a Target." 'Nuff said.
Monday, July 18, 2005
See y'all at the Reception!
Fabulous, fabulous getaway thus far here in Santa Barbara. I've not put up anything in the way of adorable pics (of which there are many) or insightful commentary (of which there is much less), but you can rest assured that the goods are a comin'. The fly in the ointment is that out of the huge bundle of cords and AC adapters we brought along, I once again forgot that one most important link for all of Maya's fans - the USB connection from the camera to the computer. I got one at Radio Shack yesterday, but given that the minimum wage distracted youthful geeks working at da Shack couldn't point me toward the right sized cord (and that I didn't bring the camera with me) I of course ended up with the wrong sized one. Admist our travels today I'll do the exchange and put up some photos. Promise.
To step back a smidge and do the tale of the tape from our Friday pediatrician visit - once again everything looks "stupendous" for Maya. Her specs currently are:
Height: 2 feet and a 1/2 inch
Weight: 14 lbs., 9 oz.
Hat Size: 42cm
All of her growth curve, percentile measures, yada yada yada, are looking spot on. She got another bevy of shots followed by the 5+ hour ride in the carseat down to Santa Barbara, so at times she was as pissed off as a pissed on cat. But Maya settled down quickly and has been a charmer ever since. We brought her along to dinner out at the always delicious Via Vai last night, during which she filled another epic diaper to the pleasure of the entire table (the obvious joke was that Italian food always does it to her). And today we're prepping to try her first first when it comes to solid food - rice cereal. Yummy. The time has come - she grabs for food whenever she sees it in front of her and our pediatrician said that 4-6 months is the target timeframe. So we'll cover ourselves in plastic and give it a shot. Check back to see how it went.
For anyone that watched Matt Cooper yesterday on "Meet the Press" - I'm looking forward to the uptick of pressure on BOTH Rove and Scooter Libby (Cheney's Chief of Staff) this week after being outed as Cooper's sources. This story isn't going away. Well, at least until the Bushies put up a Supreme Court nominee. At which point no one will give even a wet diaper about the whole fandango.
As a delightful diversion yesterday afternoon, we all headed to a matinee while Nanna watched Maya. No art house fans in the summer Sunday mix of this crowd - we chose "Wedding Crashers". Vince Vaughn's a wreck no matter how much make-up you pancake on his melon. Owen Wilson's well-lit and perfectly-timed throughout, but I've always liked him and his whole family. The cast of players surrounding the Boyz otherwise squeeze their underwritten roles to the hilt to surely satisfying degrees. An over-the-top uncredited cameo from Will Ferrell should wash the bad taste of "Bewitched" from the handful of mouths that have bothered to see it. And when the rapid-fire shtick is firing, it's as funny as any truly R-rated goofer since...well, in quite a while. My rating - a solid B. My sincere recommendation. But as an aside, I suggest that those getting married or attending weddings this summer be very much on the lookout for second-class, copy-cat attempts at such tomfoolery. I give my highest guarantee that we'll see much of that. Gawd knows I'm gonna give it a shot with my best friend, Pauly Shore.
To step back a smidge and do the tale of the tape from our Friday pediatrician visit - once again everything looks "stupendous" for Maya. Her specs currently are:
Height: 2 feet and a 1/2 inch
Weight: 14 lbs., 9 oz.
Hat Size: 42cm
All of her growth curve, percentile measures, yada yada yada, are looking spot on. She got another bevy of shots followed by the 5+ hour ride in the carseat down to Santa Barbara, so at times she was as pissed off as a pissed on cat. But Maya settled down quickly and has been a charmer ever since. We brought her along to dinner out at the always delicious Via Vai last night, during which she filled another epic diaper to the pleasure of the entire table (the obvious joke was that Italian food always does it to her). And today we're prepping to try her first first when it comes to solid food - rice cereal. Yummy. The time has come - she grabs for food whenever she sees it in front of her and our pediatrician said that 4-6 months is the target timeframe. So we'll cover ourselves in plastic and give it a shot. Check back to see how it went.
For anyone that watched Matt Cooper yesterday on "Meet the Press" - I'm looking forward to the uptick of pressure on BOTH Rove and Scooter Libby (Cheney's Chief of Staff) this week after being outed as Cooper's sources. This story isn't going away. Well, at least until the Bushies put up a Supreme Court nominee. At which point no one will give even a wet diaper about the whole fandango.
As a delightful diversion yesterday afternoon, we all headed to a matinee while Nanna watched Maya. No art house fans in the summer Sunday mix of this crowd - we chose "Wedding Crashers". Vince Vaughn's a wreck no matter how much make-up you pancake on his melon. Owen Wilson's well-lit and perfectly-timed throughout, but I've always liked him and his whole family. The cast of players surrounding the Boyz otherwise squeeze their underwritten roles to the hilt to surely satisfying degrees. An over-the-top uncredited cameo from Will Ferrell should wash the bad taste of "Bewitched" from the handful of mouths that have bothered to see it. And when the rapid-fire shtick is firing, it's as funny as any truly R-rated goofer since...well, in quite a while. My rating - a solid B. My sincere recommendation. But as an aside, I suggest that those getting married or attending weddings this summer be very much on the lookout for second-class, copy-cat attempts at such tomfoolery. I give my highest guarantee that we'll see much of that. Gawd knows I'm gonna give it a shot with my best friend, Pauly Shore.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Friday Roadtrip!
As a matter of self-indulgent full-disclosure, today's my birthday and I'm blocking out the news of the day. Mostly. And we're road trippin' down to Santa Barbara for Maya's first to the family compound now that Nanna and Poppy are back on this Coast. Expect plenty of pics, especially showcasing Maya at the beach and meeting her Great Grandmother for the first time. Prior to heading out of town, we've got a standard check-up with Maya's pediatrician to assess all the benchmarks and see who's weightgain bet is most correct (I've pegged 15 lb, 2 oz. as my tale of the tape). Get your own bets in early. And have a rockin' Friday.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Nap time ROCKS!
Contrary to her prior approach to such midday diversions, Maya's being quite the happy lit'l napper over the last few days. Two nice naps yesterday and she's playing around with her second stretch today, as well. So even though I'm a bit behind on today's news chompin' and I pessimistcally expect screams for relief from Maya via the monitor in a matter of minutes, I'll use a few stolen moments to for personal catharsis.
First of all, I'm apparently not impressing the geeks over at Whatever, where I guest-hosted for the second Thursday earlier this morning. I'm just not rattling their dorky chains all that well, I'm afraid. And I even worked a Star Trek reference into the first sentence of this morning's post. Serves me right for trying to change my colors - for anyone that's seen me in a Speedo, it's obvious that I'm a jock.
Rove's getting silly support from Dubya and most of what's being written doesn't kick the can down the road much at all. But I must believe that the DC Press corps worm has turned, even if ever so slightly. Hell, even the Wall Street Journal's posted a poll where Dubya's "liar" rating has jumped up to 45%. Those are Nixon numbers, people. And the summer's only getting hotter on an already sweaty East Coast.
If you didn't see Jon Stewart elegantly and humorously carve Bernard "I'm the REAL Bias" Goldberg a new one on last night's Daily Show, wait for it to appear on their web site. And then WATCH IT. Dead center debunking of a seriously flawed argument from the seriously unwatchable Goldberg.
Still waiting for our Sony camera to be fixed and returned. We'll surely be posting much from this upcoming weekend while down in Santa Barbara, regardless. Please check back. Maya's stirring. Must run. Rock on.
First of all, I'm apparently not impressing the geeks over at Whatever, where I guest-hosted for the second Thursday earlier this morning. I'm just not rattling their dorky chains all that well, I'm afraid. And I even worked a Star Trek reference into the first sentence of this morning's post. Serves me right for trying to change my colors - for anyone that's seen me in a Speedo, it's obvious that I'm a jock.
Rove's getting silly support from Dubya and most of what's being written doesn't kick the can down the road much at all. But I must believe that the DC Press corps worm has turned, even if ever so slightly. Hell, even the Wall Street Journal's posted a poll where Dubya's "liar" rating has jumped up to 45%. Those are Nixon numbers, people. And the summer's only getting hotter on an already sweaty East Coast.
If you didn't see Jon Stewart elegantly and humorously carve Bernard "I'm the REAL Bias" Goldberg a new one on last night's Daily Show, wait for it to appear on their web site. And then WATCH IT. Dead center debunking of a seriously flawed argument from the seriously unwatchable Goldberg.
Still waiting for our Sony camera to be fixed and returned. We'll surely be posting much from this upcoming weekend while down in Santa Barbara, regardless. Please check back. Maya's stirring. Must run. Rock on.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Monday, July 11, 2005
Dennis and Karl - who's more the Menace?
Another Maya threshold was crossed on Friday night - she slept for 12 hours straight. Her napping skills are improving, too. Or, more accurately, we've learned to begin enforcing a schedule for said sleepy times. This week after a scheduled pediatrician visit on Friday we're heading out for Maya's first roadtrip down to Santa Barbara for a long weekend. Until then, no big plans. Except to get better acquainted with our smokin' hot new Apple PowerBook laptop. We've made the turn away from the Wintel darkside. And I don't see us going back. Among other things, this sweet techie ride will allow us to begin editing and distributing some of the video we've been recording as of late, such as Maya's first "music video" shot on Friday while playing with the program "Garage Band." I know, I know - sounds pretty cheesy. But bear with us and I think some of you might be entertained by what we put up in the future.
Karl Rove's outing is now in full-throated spin thanks to the Newsweek story that is being linked to incessantly throughout the blogosphere and advanced by the majors. His defense via his lawyer is now entirely evident - Rove claims to have talked with Matt Cooper but to have never "named" Valerie Plame, at least "knowingly." For those of you with a memory, I hope you know what the "meaning of is is" now. It is this - cover your butt at all times, especially when knowingly breaking the law in the interest of political expediency. Rove's such a punk even Ashton Kutcher wouldn't hang out with him.
As Hurricane Dennis gets downgraded, I must simply hope for the best for everyone in that part of the country while noticing some ugly sidenotes to this seasonal story. First, this is shaping up to be the ugliest stormy season in recorded history. And it's only early July. The Bushies that dispute the impact of human activity on climate change, PLEASE take note. Secondly, the fact that the energy markets are kept on a razor's edge with such an event even though crude oil prices are already at over $60/barrel should scare all of us. The justification of the market's fixation on this hurricane was noted as one of possibly threatened facilities (storage and refineries along the Gulf Coast). Regardless, we're SOOOO screwed when it comes to energy policy these days. And for all you Bushies, there's no way that initiating exploration in ANWR or elsewhere is gonna get us out from under these ever-present concerns within the decade. Get used to walkin', people. You may be needing to do a whole lot more of it a whole lot sooner than anyone has planned for.
Since the London attacks last Thursday, very little has been released about the coordination and control of the bombings even though this aspect of our so-called "War on Terror" has been constantly lauded as the one area in which we're seeing actual results. Given that London has more security cameras than anyplace in the world and that they fought the IRA for decades, I'm left feeling even more skeptical about how well-prepared we here in the US are for such events. Secretary Chertoff wants to reassure us that we're prepped for copy-cat attacks - to my recollection, al Queda has never done so and why should we be reassured when we hear about disproportionately spent Homeland Security moolah ($18B on aviation, $250M on rail and transit systems) meant to prevent such attacks in the first place? Dubya uses the opportunity to dust off the same BS and deliver it to yet another (seemingly) friendly audience as he did at the FBI headquarters this morning. Let's face it people - we're being sold a false bill of goods. If London can get hit during Blair's big moment with the G8 meeting just getting underway and the most intense security in the world (hopefully) focused on the prevention of a major attack, how are we supposed to feel good about how we're "making progress" in Dubya's asinine assessment? The only progress I see being made is in the way we've bolstered the armies of doubters out there that (as Dubya ridiculously yet redundantly opined this morning) this past atrocity in London was "an attack on the civilized world and the civilized world is united in its resolve. We will not yield, we will defend our freedom." Leading to the question for Dubya - just who is the "we" anymore? In my mind, "we" are screwed by false leadership and empty rhetoric. "We" are seeing the well-timed attacks of a still-resourceful enemy that is kicking our collective freedom-loving ass. "We" haven't prevented shit. And if "we" will not yield, "we" will see many more of the sorts of days "we" saw in London on Thursday. "We" need to get serious. "We" need to protest the policies of this Administration. "We" are running out of options. "We" can't continue to believe that what "we" are being told is in any way based in reality. "We" need to react. And "we" will not take this boilerplate bunk anymore than "we" would delay in protesting the purchase of a lousy car, cantelope or DVD. "We" should be much angrier than "we" currently are. But "we" are getting there.
Sorry - needed to rant for a moment. I need a run in the Park. I think "we" all do. Rock on.
Karl Rove's outing is now in full-throated spin thanks to the Newsweek story that is being linked to incessantly throughout the blogosphere and advanced by the majors. His defense via his lawyer is now entirely evident - Rove claims to have talked with Matt Cooper but to have never "named" Valerie Plame, at least "knowingly." For those of you with a memory, I hope you know what the "meaning of is is" now. It is this - cover your butt at all times, especially when knowingly breaking the law in the interest of political expediency. Rove's such a punk even Ashton Kutcher wouldn't hang out with him.
As Hurricane Dennis gets downgraded, I must simply hope for the best for everyone in that part of the country while noticing some ugly sidenotes to this seasonal story. First, this is shaping up to be the ugliest stormy season in recorded history. And it's only early July. The Bushies that dispute the impact of human activity on climate change, PLEASE take note. Secondly, the fact that the energy markets are kept on a razor's edge with such an event even though crude oil prices are already at over $60/barrel should scare all of us. The justification of the market's fixation on this hurricane was noted as one of possibly threatened facilities (storage and refineries along the Gulf Coast). Regardless, we're SOOOO screwed when it comes to energy policy these days. And for all you Bushies, there's no way that initiating exploration in ANWR or elsewhere is gonna get us out from under these ever-present concerns within the decade. Get used to walkin', people. You may be needing to do a whole lot more of it a whole lot sooner than anyone has planned for.
Since the London attacks last Thursday, very little has been released about the coordination and control of the bombings even though this aspect of our so-called "War on Terror" has been constantly lauded as the one area in which we're seeing actual results. Given that London has more security cameras than anyplace in the world and that they fought the IRA for decades, I'm left feeling even more skeptical about how well-prepared we here in the US are for such events. Secretary Chertoff wants to reassure us that we're prepped for copy-cat attacks - to my recollection, al Queda has never done so and why should we be reassured when we hear about disproportionately spent Homeland Security moolah ($18B on aviation, $250M on rail and transit systems) meant to prevent such attacks in the first place? Dubya uses the opportunity to dust off the same BS and deliver it to yet another (seemingly) friendly audience as he did at the FBI headquarters this morning. Let's face it people - we're being sold a false bill of goods. If London can get hit during Blair's big moment with the G8 meeting just getting underway and the most intense security in the world (hopefully) focused on the prevention of a major attack, how are we supposed to feel good about how we're "making progress" in Dubya's asinine assessment? The only progress I see being made is in the way we've bolstered the armies of doubters out there that (as Dubya ridiculously yet redundantly opined this morning) this past atrocity in London was "an attack on the civilized world and the civilized world is united in its resolve. We will not yield, we will defend our freedom." Leading to the question for Dubya - just who is the "we" anymore? In my mind, "we" are screwed by false leadership and empty rhetoric. "We" are seeing the well-timed attacks of a still-resourceful enemy that is kicking our collective freedom-loving ass. "We" haven't prevented shit. And if "we" will not yield, "we" will see many more of the sorts of days "we" saw in London on Thursday. "We" need to get serious. "We" need to protest the policies of this Administration. "We" are running out of options. "We" can't continue to believe that what "we" are being told is in any way based in reality. "We" need to react. And "we" will not take this boilerplate bunk anymore than "we" would delay in protesting the purchase of a lousy car, cantelope or DVD. "We" should be much angrier than "we" currently are. But "we" are getting there.
Sorry - needed to rant for a moment. I need a run in the Park. I think "we" all do. Rock on.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
Friday, July 08, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
London calling...
Everyone's focused on this morning's attack in London - myself included. I just posted my first entry on the writers' site "Whatever" that I'm guest hosting on Thursdays this month and it focuses on what I've seen since I woke up at 5am West Coast time. Please check it out. I'll get more up both there and here later. Nevertheless, I hope everyone makes it through today smelling Spring-meadow fresh and extra fruity.
Oh, just to not lose that extra fruity lead-in - we watched Morgan Spurlock's documentary series "30 Days" on FX last night for the first time. Compellingly well-done television (an oft-used oxymoron, but in this case applicable). Last night's episode featured a 24-year-old homophobe from Oxford, MI who moved to San Francisco's Castro neighborhood for a month to live with an articulate, admirable gay man. The straight man (Ryan) was completely reluctant to listen to his own logic, but the gay man (Ed) and the surrounding community of gay men and women gave him the chance to learn something. If you liked Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me" on McDonald's, you'll LOVE this series. My highest recommendation. Rock on.
Oh, just to not lose that extra fruity lead-in - we watched Morgan Spurlock's documentary series "30 Days" on FX last night for the first time. Compellingly well-done television (an oft-used oxymoron, but in this case applicable). Last night's episode featured a 24-year-old homophobe from Oxford, MI who moved to San Francisco's Castro neighborhood for a month to live with an articulate, admirable gay man. The straight man (Ryan) was completely reluctant to listen to his own logic, but the gay man (Ed) and the surrounding community of gay men and women gave him the chance to learn something. If you liked Spurlock's documentary "Super Size Me" on McDonald's, you'll LOVE this series. My highest recommendation. Rock on.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
These "abs" are all mine. And they're spectacular.
Maya's vocal gymnastics have bounded to a new level of both volume and frequency. Shutting her up after a morning run and a bottle doesn't seem possible on days like today. So I've started videotaping her actions and hilarious gibberish once again (hoping to post some clips soon). And now that she seems distracted by being propped up in her bouncy chair to do some speedbag work on the hanging plastic rattle-bobbles, I'll do my best to work off a few calories with rapid-fire shots at some stories of the day.
The Rove-as-Plame-leaker story via Lawrence O'Donnell at the Huffington Post has yet to gain real traction, but he makes some good points today. Thanks to Rove's lawyer we now have a new standard in parsed legalese - “never knowingly disclosed classified information.” For those that appreciate maintaining plausible deniability, Rove's a frickin' man to worship. Will the stonewall hold? I'd bet against it. But I'm always wrong, so I'll just keep paying attention for the time being.
Fred Thompson's returning to yet another DC role - this time as Dubya's Supreme Court "search" faceplate. Hey, it's no "Iron Eagle III" or "Curly Sue" but work's work.
Halliburton's apparently still in bidness. Doin' pretty well, to boot. Another $5B for Iraq contracts, even after all the fraud and corruption. My bet is that they've got some friends somewhere in the government.
Poor Maria Carey's getting flack for painting on her ab six-pack. I'd suggest she'd also painted on even more boobs, but that would be juvenile and seemingly impossible.
Maya's raising holy hell - duty (or possibly doodie) calls. Time for more of these sorts of important updates will arise later. Hopefully. Rock on.
The Rove-as-Plame-leaker story via Lawrence O'Donnell at the Huffington Post has yet to gain real traction, but he makes some good points today. Thanks to Rove's lawyer we now have a new standard in parsed legalese - “never knowingly disclosed classified information.” For those that appreciate maintaining plausible deniability, Rove's a frickin' man to worship. Will the stonewall hold? I'd bet against it. But I'm always wrong, so I'll just keep paying attention for the time being.
Fred Thompson's returning to yet another DC role - this time as Dubya's Supreme Court "search" faceplate. Hey, it's no "Iron Eagle III" or "Curly Sue" but work's work.
Halliburton's apparently still in bidness. Doin' pretty well, to boot. Another $5B for Iraq contracts, even after all the fraud and corruption. My bet is that they've got some friends somewhere in the government.
Poor Maria Carey's getting flack for painting on her ab six-pack. I'd suggest she'd also painted on even more boobs, but that would be juvenile and seemingly impossible.
Maya's raising holy hell - duty (or possibly doodie) calls. Time for more of these sorts of important updates will arise later. Hopefully. Rock on.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
A Supreme shake-up in the cards?
A very subdued yet successful holiday weekend on our end - hope the same can be said of your side of the national parade route. Maya's sleeping like a champ (11-hour stretches each of the last two nights) and we survived a full 24-hour at the hospital call day on Sarah's part with lots of walking and tummy time and Wimbledon via TiVo. I'm very happy for Venus Williams and I respect Roger Federer's complete game. But Andy Roddick's got the best press presence since John McEnroe, so I hope he gets more moments in the full-blown media glare in years to come. Maya's helping out around the house more lately, which for a 4-month old means she's conking out for a few naps that allow us to get through the occasional pile of bills or newspapers. Generally not in that order. Speaking of which, a few stories from this morning's mix really caught my eye.
The Pentagon's apparently considering a major shift in their preparedness. Up until now (believe it or not) our military was supposedly operating with a basic planning structure that would allow them to fight two simultaneous wars. Cause just fighting one's for pussies. Well, now that Iraq has turned into the incredibly messy shit sandwich that most of us know it to be, Rummy and his chums are planning to drop that whole "two wars if we're really in a pinch" silliness. The underlying drive stems from Rummy's oft-articulated master plan to up the technological ante on our fighting forces and create in the process a much leaner operative capability. Ya know - more smart bombs, less dumb soldiers - that sorta thang. But it actually makes a lot of sense when you can't get people to enlist and have a Congress that will seemingly rubber-stamp just about any military appropriations bill that Dubya sends up the Hill. It doesn't make an iota of sense at any other time, but for now - what me worry?
For those of you that just can't get enough political journalism the Washington Post Sunday Magazine ran the sort of extensive profile piece on Howard Dean that if you closed your eyes and skipped the first section you'd swear was written at the height of his quixotic run for the nomination. Very strong background on Ho-Ho. Very much what has always been run about him (lousy dresser, blunt, Judith's a smarter doc, yada yada yada). But it still was a very fair piece to counter all the attack flack aimed at him since he became DNC Chair. Well worth a looksie.
For anyone who wonders where all the fuss about the departure of Sandra Day O'Connor from Supreme Court comes from, just take a gander at the cases that they've slated to hear starting with the beginning of the session on October 3rd. Abortion, right-to-die, gay rights - all the heavy hitters on the cultural war footing are represented. My early prediction is complete and total stalemate for whomever Bush picks. O'Connor stays on into the next session. Rehnquist dies. Thomas gets hit by a street sweeper, wakes up with amnesia and disappears to the Deep South to search for his roots. Scalia comes out of the closet and quits the Court to open a B&B in Provincetown, MA. Karl Rove runs out of palatable ideas after the first Senate stalemate and loses his will to win. Convinces Bush to nominate Judge Judy, plus Simon, Paula and the other guy from "American Idol" to fill the slots. The Senate capitulates. The American public's attention shifts to the next celebrity trial - my bet is on Vince Vaughn killing a hooker within the next few months. And this whole period seems like a bad dream from far, far in the past.
It could happen. Look it up. Rock on.
The Pentagon's apparently considering a major shift in their preparedness. Up until now (believe it or not) our military was supposedly operating with a basic planning structure that would allow them to fight two simultaneous wars. Cause just fighting one's for pussies. Well, now that Iraq has turned into the incredibly messy shit sandwich that most of us know it to be, Rummy and his chums are planning to drop that whole "two wars if we're really in a pinch" silliness. The underlying drive stems from Rummy's oft-articulated master plan to up the technological ante on our fighting forces and create in the process a much leaner operative capability. Ya know - more smart bombs, less dumb soldiers - that sorta thang. But it actually makes a lot of sense when you can't get people to enlist and have a Congress that will seemingly rubber-stamp just about any military appropriations bill that Dubya sends up the Hill. It doesn't make an iota of sense at any other time, but for now - what me worry?
For those of you that just can't get enough political journalism the Washington Post Sunday Magazine ran the sort of extensive profile piece on Howard Dean that if you closed your eyes and skipped the first section you'd swear was written at the height of his quixotic run for the nomination. Very strong background on Ho-Ho. Very much what has always been run about him (lousy dresser, blunt, Judith's a smarter doc, yada yada yada). But it still was a very fair piece to counter all the attack flack aimed at him since he became DNC Chair. Well worth a looksie.
For anyone who wonders where all the fuss about the departure of Sandra Day O'Connor from Supreme Court comes from, just take a gander at the cases that they've slated to hear starting with the beginning of the session on October 3rd. Abortion, right-to-die, gay rights - all the heavy hitters on the cultural war footing are represented. My early prediction is complete and total stalemate for whomever Bush picks. O'Connor stays on into the next session. Rehnquist dies. Thomas gets hit by a street sweeper, wakes up with amnesia and disappears to the Deep South to search for his roots. Scalia comes out of the closet and quits the Court to open a B&B in Provincetown, MA. Karl Rove runs out of palatable ideas after the first Senate stalemate and loses his will to win. Convinces Bush to nominate Judge Judy, plus Simon, Paula and the other guy from "American Idol" to fill the slots. The Senate capitulates. The American public's attention shifts to the next celebrity trial - my bet is on Vince Vaughn killing a hooker within the next few months. And this whole period seems like a bad dream from far, far in the past.
It could happen. Look it up. Rock on.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Rove - "Thy name is My Bitch!"
Every single blogger in the known universe is required today by law to reference the following story of epic just-desserts about to be served:
Karl Rove is surprisingly NOT Deep Throat. But he's hopefully worried about that moniker being applied to him in his eventual Federal residence once the Plame investigation plays out.
Time to focus on issues that have absolutely nothing to do with such greasy and overdue matters of State. Enjoy your holidazed weekends.
Karl Rove is surprisingly NOT Deep Throat. But he's hopefully worried about that moniker being applied to him in his eventual Federal residence once the Plame investigation plays out.
Time to focus on issues that have absolutely nothing to do with such greasy and overdue matters of State. Enjoy your holidazed weekends.
Friday, July 01, 2005
And so the Battle begins...
Sandra Day O'Connor announces her retirement. All of DC is running madly through the streets. Radical activists on both ends of the spectrum bursting into flames across the nation. Hug your children and lock up your pets. Oh, and have a marvy Independence Day weekend. Rock on.
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